April 20, 2010

Dealing With Colors The Previous Owner Left Behind!

My clients moved into a home that was fully decorated by the previous owners. They left behind strong leftover paint colors. You could tell that the previous owners had put a lot of thought into color. All the walls were painted bright, dark or in a faux-finish. The colors were individually great, but as a house palette they were disjointed and overbearing. So much so that you couldn’t see anything else like the nice wood floors, or the natural red of the brick.

Visualizing your wall color over previous leftover wall colors is hard to do. This is why Real Estate Agents for years have recommended painting all the walls in off-white or neutral paint colors so the home can sell faster. In the Northwest, Devine Color changed the mindset of Real Estate agents when our color and paint quality began to show up on walls everywhere with rich colors that made the homes even more beautiful. They began to advertise homes with Devine Color paint as an upgrade feature for the home. The wall colors were personal and beautiful with the wood, stone, lighting, and every surface in the home. My color consulting philosophy is: create a house palette that is beautiful to you and to others and make the world a better place.

When the new home owner can’t visualize new paint colors over the old paint colors, they say, “I have got to paint the trim out, I have to re-stain the floors, I have to retile the fireplace.” Not so fast!

What makes wall color so powerful is that it make or break a home. It can make a not-so-special wood trim look like a rich leather belt or like a dirty old shoe. The wrong wall color that makes orange oak floors seem too-yellow can be repainted with the right wall color to make the same oak floors look radiant like caramelized honey.

So where do you start and how do you ignore the old paint colors without having to repaint everything white first? You go through our legendary process with our paint palettes. My clients and I ignored everything, accepted natural and wood surface colors with the at fabrics my new owners had. We looked at all of the paint colors on top of the dining room table and started to work on a home paint palette that was personal and beautiful for all.

This is the home the new owners first wanted to re-stain the wood floors. Instead, with the new paint colors they became a beautiful color to keep.

BEFORE entry: It was hard to see through all the color that was already there, the leftover paint colors from the previous owners. It did not reflect the style or needs of the new owners.

AFTER entry: Please notice, the ceilings are painted in the wall color to create beautiful canopies of color that surround your peripheral vision. I had to do some fast talking to have the ceilings painted out. The wife thought her husband was going to flip out. Why did they trust me? Because all the colors looked so pretty together on the table, they deep down knew that they would look together no matter what. For this look, try Devine Spice, Ginger or Cabernet on one side of the hall and Devine Teak, Organza or Cafe on the other (including the ceiling)

BEFORE dining: Here you see how this kind of red or yellow can overpower the room. It made the room visually small. Every thing looked choppy and disconnected. The paint itself was cheap looking. (This is important, as walls are the LARGEST color in a room, so paint finishes, like fabric blends, make a huge difference in the quality of color)

Color has such an impact on the furniture and on how good you feel in your home.

AFTER dining: Notice the cool ceiling, and how the new color makes the wood red, the floors blonde. Notice the glow from our Delicate Wall Finish and how nice it transforms light into ambiance.. Notice the room, with dark ceilings, now does not look small, but looks cozy. We could have replaced the red with one of ours, but we chose to put the red in the entry, a more appropriate color to welcome guests and family. For this look, try Devine Swell, Agave, Storm, or Denim. Changing the light was a major improvement.

BEFORE living room: Okay, the cool thing about this was that they were also going to replace the red brick fireplace, but now it looks so beautiful with the entry color, it’s a keeper! Before, it looked outdated.

As your eyes wander, they make connections between the colors that have been perfectly placed throughout the different rooms as a result of making the existing natural surface colors important.

Now the old brick not only connects to the entry, but also connects to the wood.

You are surrounded by 360 degrees of color relationships that your eyes love.

Comments

Becky if you are referring the the beautiful green walls with a creamy lid, that would be the look of Devine Manzanita, Cypress or Fescue in a Devine Muslin, Macadamia or Custard ceiling. Yuhm indeed. This combination can be painted in any room and look just as beautifully fresh.Here is a blog about one of these greens you are going to really enjoy: http://www.devinecolorblog.com/2010/04/searching-for-the-right-green.html
Good painting, send pics or post them on Facebook...

Devine Coqui mixes well with many wonderful color combinations. Think of building a whole palette based on stripes you love. How about Devine Cocoa, Coqui, Storm, Blush, and Green Tea? Really the sky is the limit. Think of Devine Coqui with Devine Peacock or pairing up with Cafe? Devine Encore is the richer, deeper version...Let me know what you think?

These look great. I have a living room and dining room painted Devine Coqui and am desperately looking for an accent wall color for dining room and a color that complements coqui for the kitchen and the family room (this part of the house is open floor plan). I feel like I may have made a huge mistake with the coqui (it is on the ceilings, too). Any ideas?
What about a blue for the kitchen, or haze and shimmer? Help, please!!!
Thanks!
Colleen